Written Question · S2W-07574 · Session 2
What importance it attaches to Scotland's coast and seas and what steps it is taking to develop a more coherent approach to the sustainable…
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it attaches to Scotland's coast and seas and what steps it is taking to develop a more coherent approach to the sustainable management of Scotland's marine environment.
The answer
The Scottish Executive istaking a strong lead in setting a vision for Scotland’s marine environment andidentifying how best to deliver the sustainable development of our valuablemarine resources.
Scotland has a marine environment to be proud of. Our marineand coastal waters support a wide and abundant range of wildlife and naturalhabitats. They also provide food, recreation and energy. For all activity inand around our seas, striking the right balance between socio-economic andenvironmental factors is vitally important to the sustainable future of ourcountry and to the marine life around our shores. The Scottish Executivealready has a range of initiatives in place to address some of the mainpressures on our coast and seas in order to get that balance right.
We now want to go further.We want to bring greater clarity to how those current activities interrelateand what principal policy objectives they collectively serve. I want to reviewwhether, despite present activity, there are any strategic issues not currentlyaddressed and, if so, whether and how to take them forward and in whattimeframe.
We are therefore publishinga consultation paper today to seek views on how best to develop a strategicframework for Scotland’s marine environment. The consultation paper setsout the background to the importance of our coastal and marine waters and thecontinuing pressures on them. It summarises our existing international and EUobligations and describes the measures we already have in hand to meet them. Itpresents an overarching vision for our marine environment with currentsupporting activities. And it raises a number of open questions on what the keyelements of a strategic framework should be, on what structures might be neededto give effect to it and on what governance structure might be needed for thefuture sustainable management of our coast and seas.
The consultation paper takesforward our Partnership Agreement commitment to consult on the best strategyfor protecting and enhancing all of Scotland’s coastline, including the optionsof establishing national coastline parks and marine national parks. It alsoseeks views on whether any changes might be necessary to the following fourspecific pieces of legislation relating to marine and coastal developmentconsents for which the Scottish Executive has devolved responsibility:
Part II of the Food andEnvironment Protection Act 1985 (deposits in the sea)
Coast Protection Act 1949(navigational safety)
Harbours Act 1964 (portdevelopments)
Electricity Act 1989(offshore electricity generation)
Copies of the consultationpaper have been forwarded to the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number32159).
In parallel to theconsultation paper, the Scottish Executive will be producing a shorter leafleton the importance of Scotland’s seas to help raise wider public awareness of,and invite comment on, the issues raised in the consultation paper.
Scotland has a marine environment to be proud of. Our marineand coastal waters support a wide and abundant range of wildlife and naturalhabitats. They also provide food, recreation and energy. For all activity inand around our seas, striking the right balance between socio-economic andenvironmental factors is vitally important to the sustainable future of ourcountry and to the marine life around our shores. The Scottish Executivealready has a range of initiatives in place to address some of the mainpressures on our coast and seas in order to get that balance right.
We now want to go further.We want to bring greater clarity to how those current activities interrelateand what principal policy objectives they collectively serve. I want to reviewwhether, despite present activity, there are any strategic issues not currentlyaddressed and, if so, whether and how to take them forward and in whattimeframe.
We are therefore publishinga consultation paper today to seek views on how best to develop a strategicframework for Scotland’s marine environment. The consultation paper setsout the background to the importance of our coastal and marine waters and thecontinuing pressures on them. It summarises our existing international and EUobligations and describes the measures we already have in hand to meet them. Itpresents an overarching vision for our marine environment with currentsupporting activities. And it raises a number of open questions on what the keyelements of a strategic framework should be, on what structures might be neededto give effect to it and on what governance structure might be needed for thefuture sustainable management of our coast and seas.
The consultation paper takesforward our Partnership Agreement commitment to consult on the best strategyfor protecting and enhancing all of Scotland’s coastline, including the optionsof establishing national coastline parks and marine national parks. It alsoseeks views on whether any changes might be necessary to the following fourspecific pieces of legislation relating to marine and coastal developmentconsents for which the Scottish Executive has devolved responsibility:
Part II of the Food andEnvironment Protection Act 1985 (deposits in the sea)
Coast Protection Act 1949(navigational safety)
Harbours Act 1964 (portdevelopments)
Electricity Act 1989(offshore electricity generation)
Copies of the consultationpaper have been forwarded to the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number32159).
In parallel to theconsultation paper, the Scottish Executive will be producing a shorter leafleton the importance of Scotland’s seas to help raise wider public awareness of,and invite comment on, the issues raised in the consultation paper.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S2W-07574 by reference.